Inside The Bills

Bills Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas has a soft spot for former Houston Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville.

As he mentioned in his draft day memories of 1988, leading up to the draft Glanville was pushing the Oilers hard to draft Thomas, which would’ve been fine with the Houston native.

“Being a hometown guy every time I see Jerry I thank him for pushing the Oilers to have an opportunity to draft me,” said Thomas.

Thomas remembers all the doubters that were out there that weren’t sure if Thomas’ knee would hold up over the long haul after partially tearing his ACL his junior year. So he appreciates the guys that believed in him before he did anything in the NFL.

Of course the Oilers ultimately passed on Thomas in round one of the 1988 draft, choosing instead to take RB Lorenzo White, one of seven to come off the board before Thomas.

Had Thomas been taken by Houston he likely would’ve had 700 receptions in his career in the Oilers’ run and shoot offense, but Thomas wonders about his rushing totals.

“Yeah I probably would’ve caught a lot more passes in that kind of attack, but I also wouldn’t have 12,000 career rushing yards had I played most of my career there,” said Thomas. “They were throwing the ball 40 or 50 times a game. There’s no way I’d be getting 20 carries a game too.”